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| Judge William Howard Taft. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Friday, Feb. 7, 1902.
GOVERNOR TAFT TESTIFIES.
Says Tariff on Imports Is Chief Reliance of Government.
Washington, Feb. 7.—Governor Taft said before the senate committee that there never had been a land tax in the islands and he attributed this immunity to the influence of the friars who had large holdings and to the owners of large haciendas. The commission had imposed a land tax. There had been opposition to the system, but this was disappearing. The income from this tax would be small for a time because of retarded development of the country, that only five million acres of the 65,000,000 acres of agricultural lands in the Philippines are held by private owners. The Spaniards had a method for acquiring government lands similar to our homestead system, but advantage had not been taken of it because of the complications of Spanish methods. He also said there had been much fraud in land matters and he urged that in whatever regulations may be made for the disposal of the public lands of the Philippines the rights of squatters should be recognized.
Judge Taft said that the assessable taxable property in Manila would not exceed $30,000,000. This, he added, would not exceed one-sixth of the valuation of an American city of the same size, and yet Manila would require a far larger expenditure than would an American city of the same class. One considerable item of expense for administration there would be that of maintaining sanitary conditions. It was necessary at all times to guard against the plague and there are from 15,000 to 20,000 lepers in the entire archipelago.
These conditions rendered it necessary for the general government to bear part of the expenses of municipal government.
Taking up the subject of general taxation he said the commission is making an effort to make the customs tariff the only source of revenue, "and while," he said, "we should be glad to have free trade with the United States in order to insure the progress of agriculture we cannot but feel that if it is fair to collect a tariff on goods coming into the Philippines from the United States it is only fair to provide for a tariff on Philippine articles coming into the United States.
"In our judgment the customs tax is absolutely necessary as the government could not be supported by direct taxation. If there were no customs collection on goods coming from the United States the effect would be to nullify all the tariff collections, as practically all the importations into the Philippines would be from the United States or from Spain, which would also be given free trade under the peace treaty."
He said the tariff adopted by the commission is a specific duty amounting to from 15 to 30 per cent reduced to an ad valorem system and that the effort had been to place the higher tariff on luxuries and the lower on necessities, thus reversing the Spanish system.
Replying to a question from Senator Lodge as to the effect of the removal of the export duty on hemp exported from the Philippines Governor Taft said that nothing could be done to change the conditions in that respect. "We can sell all the hemp we can raise," he said. "The effect of the provision would be greater on sugar. I apprehend that the anxiety of foreigners to secure the hemp product of the Philippines has led to the furnishing of much of the sinews of war of the Filipinos."
In reply to a question from Senator Culberson concerning the effect of placing a lower tariff on American imports from the Philippines than upon Philippine exports from the United States, Governor Taft explained that the commission had devoted no time to the Dingley tariff law. "We were looking solely after the interests of the Philippines," he said, "and it is true that the lower we get duties on our goods shipped to the United States the more trade will be developed."
In this connection Senator Patterson reminded the witness that he had in his report recommended a reduction of 50 per cent and asked why such a reduction had been suggested.
Governor Taft replied: "I am bound to say that at present our principal reason for asking a reduction is sentimental. The effect of a reduction of 50 or even 75 per cent in Philippine imports into the United States would not be great for the next few years and any concession of that character would be beneficial in our dealing with the people of the Philippines. If we can go back to them and say that congress has recognized them in this way they will appreciate the discrimination in their favor. Such a course on the part of congress will be a great aid in giving their assurance of the friendly feeling of the American people."
To Meet Governor Taft.
Washington, Feb. 7.—President Roosevelt invited a number of well known men to dinner at the White House last night to meet Governor William H. Taft of the Philippines. They included the following: Secretary Shaw, Secretary Root, Speaker Henderson, Senators Foraker, Lodge, Spooner, Fairbanks, Hanna and Beveridge, Representatives Grosvenor and H. A. Cooper, Dr. Arthur T. Hadley, president of Yale university, Rev. Lyman Abbot and J. B. Bishop.
Andrew Carnegie.
CARNEGIE'S EPITAPH
A Man Who Could Secure More Clever Men Than He.
NEW YORK, Feb. 7.—''I guess this will be the epitaph I will have put on my tombstone, "'Here lies a man who knew how to get around men much cleverer than himself.'"
This statement was made by Andrew Carnegie, the great steel master, during a reception last night in the new Carnegie library of engineering, Hoboken, which he had just formally presented to the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Mr. Carnegie told of his early successes in the iron industry. He said that he was the first iron manufacturer in this country to employ an expert chemist and to this he attributed much of his success. This chemist was a clever man and he saved much money for the concern by analyzing properly the ores. Mr. Carnegie disclaimed the possession of genius in his own person, and frankly gave credit for his vast achievements to the men of skill and knowledge who had aided him.
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.
A New Discovery in Surgery.
Perhaps there is nothing more important being done—if it is of importance to preserve, lengthen and make comfortable human life—than the constant studies in surgery, in which, if in no other branch of science, this country is keeping well abreast with Europe. A notable instance is that of the discovery of an effective operation for arresting malignant growths, such as cancer, for which Dr. Robert H. W. Dawbarn, one of the visiting surgeons of the city and polyclinic hospitals of New York City, has been awarded the prize established by the celebrated Dr. Samuel D Gross for original research in surgery. The prize of $1,000 was awarded by the Phliadelphia academy of surgery as trustee.
The competition has been open for six years, and Dr. Dawbarn's claim was made only last year. His method is the cutting out of the external carotid arteries which supply blood to the face, nose, mouth, tongue, and indeed all other parts, except the brain and the eyes. It appears that Dr. Dawbarn's treatise covers the record of forty such operations by himself and as many more by a dozen other surgeons. In all these cases there was marked improvement, a decided check to the cancerous growths, which shrink and become harmless lumps, the only evidence of the operation being two delicate lines, one on each side of the neck. The best results, of course, are reached when the disease is taken in the early stages. The first person Dawbarn operated on, seven years ago, had a malignant growth in the pharynx, and the man is in good health today and attending to his business. In one case, where the patients face was almost covered by the growth, that has been arrested and the disfigurement has lessened, though it cannot be completely removed.
It is held that had this been known when General Grant was suffering, his life might have been prolonged and his suffering greatly lessened, if not relieved altogether. This is assuredly a wonderful achievement. Gross would have been delighted at this result of his prize. He was one of the eminent surgeons of the country, and his fellows have reared to his memory in Washington a heroic bronze statue.
THE TALMAGE CASE.
Evidence of Prosecution Presented—Defendant Makes a Statement.
The examination of Joseph H. Talmage, manager of the Cortland Buggy company, who stands charged by his wife, Mary A. Talmage of Owego, with grand larceny in the first degree in disposing of certain goods belonging to the company without her consent, was held in city court this morning. Mrs. Talmage, the complainant in the action, was present in response to the subpoena that was served upon her. She excused her absence Wednesday, the day the examination was set down for, by saying that the Saturday before she had gone out into the country and was snowbound until the first of the week. This upset her plans and frustrated her that she could not tell the day of the week. Tuesday she was anxious to get home to attend her business and forgot all about the examination the next morning. She said she was with her husband before leaving on Tuesday but denied they had talked about the case.
Mrs. Talmage was the first witness sworn. She stated that she was an owner in part of the Cortland Buggy Co. and that her husband was an employee of the concern. She had not authorized him to sell the property, nor had she sold it. She stated that she was sorry she had begun the action on account of her children. She knew nothing of the transfer of the goods to Emmet Grant. She told her husband January 21, that he must not sell the business, whereupon he said that he ran it, and that she did not own a bolt in the company.
Upon cross examination she said that Talmage had acted as general manager of the business ever since the company was formed. He drew checks, sold and bought stock and hired the help. He had never rendered an accounting to her in relation to the business. In a way he had managed it as though it were his own business.
Emmet Grant, to whom the bill of sale was rendered, was next sworn. He said that he had never paid Mrs. Talmage anything for the business. In response to questions of the court he said that the matter was agreed upon between him and Talmage on a Sunday. He did not remove the locks from the building, but had Talmage do it. He had lent Talmage $350 and took notes for the amount.
Attorney W. D. Tuttle for defendant then moved for the discharge of the defendant on the ground that The People had failed to establish sufficient grounds for holding him for the crime charged. The motion was denied and the defendant notified of his right to make a statement in the case.
He said that he had been the manager of the concern and run it as though it were his own. He had borrowed money, paid bills and signed all papers of the concern. Last season he was obliged to borrow money and did so of Grant. He was taken sick and Grant came to him and asked for security for the notes, so he turned over a certain amount of the stock to him as security. He had not received a dollar from Grant. He had done all this in good faith and had no intention of doing wrong. He also gave Grant the right to make up goods and sell them under the name of the Cortland Buggy Co., in order that he could market the goods delivered over to him by the bill of sales.
The case was adjourned until next Wednesday in order to get the evidence of the people's witnesses in form for signing.
Trouble at Ithaca.
The wind storm of Sunday night blew down the big steel smokestack at the Remington salt plant. It fell across the heavy 10-inch steam pipe used for carrying steam from boilers to engines, and demolished a section of it. The Remington plant has been furnishing the power for the street cars, the incandescent lights, and street lights. The accident left the city without street car service on Monday, and without street lights or incandescent lights on Monday and Tuesday nights.—Ithaca Democrat.
"Three jug telephone."
DAY AT THE CENTRAL OFFICE.
Nothing in Particular Doing, but Over Eight Thousand Calls Answered.
Many subscribers of the local telephones may perhaps suppose that the operators at the Central office have little to do except to visit and crochet and incidentally answer a call now and then. They are perhaps indignant because their own call is not answered in a twinkling. It probably never occurs to them to think that the young woman may be working for dear life to catch up with the calls that have proceeded.
Yesterday was an ordinary day at the office of the Home Telephone company. February is in the main not an over busy month and there was nothing in particular doing in town yesterday. Because it was such a dull season the management decided to keep a record of the calls answered in the twenty-four hours from midnight to midnight. There are six switchboards for subscribers and one toll board in the Cortland exchange. Upon these seven boards 8,076 calls were answered. Upon one board—-that which numbers from 0 to 99—there were 1,140 calls in eight hours. No one operator is at the board more than eight hours in the day and yesterday Miss Ella Summers who is in charge of that board was there only six hours, but in those six hours she answered over 1,000 calls.
In Homer, N. Y., there is one switchboard and there were 926 calls upon this. In the whole exchange, therefore, including both Cortland and Homer there were 9,002 calls.
No one who sees these figures can wonder that now and then a mistake will be made in giving the right number or that occasionally there will be a little delay. The wonder is that the service is so excellent, and all will agree that it is good.
BREVITIES.
—The second of the series of Assembly parties will be held this evening.
—Pecos tribe, No. 357, I. O. R. M., conferred the adoption degree on eight candidates at their meeting last night.
—A telephone has been placed in the office of the new city clerk which rings in response to the call "165 two rings."
—Dryden is to have a new rural free delivery route which will extend east from that village into tbe borders of Cortland county, circling around Gee hill and touching the edge of McLean.
—Horses given to the frivolity of running away should take warning from the example of a Cortland delivery horse which ran and in attempting to cross a railroad bridge was caught between the ties, fell and broke its neck.—Binghamton Republican.
—A special election is to be held in Ithaca on Thursday, Feb. 27, from 8 A. M. to 5 P. M. at which time the following proposition is to be voted again: "Shall the city acquire its water works system both for fire purposes and the use of its inhabitants?"
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